Safe.



Patented Nov. 20,1900.

vJ. H. HOWARD.

SAFE.

(Application filed Dec 9, 1897 Ill IIMH

(No Mudel.)

Urtrrn "Fr es.

JAMES H. HOWARD, OF MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS;

SPECIFICATION forrning part of Letters Patent No. 661,989, datedNovember 20, 1900.

Application filed December 9, 1897. Serial No. 661,232. (No model.)

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES H. HOWARD, of Medford, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Safes, of which the following is a specification.

This invent-ion relates to safes and vaults; and it consists in certainfeatures of novelty in construction and arrangement which I shall nowproceed to describe and claim, the particular object in view being to soconstruct the jamh and door of the safe or vault as to give greatersecurity against the attacks of burglars than heretofore.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a front view of one form of hinge used in myimproved construction. Fig. 2 represents a front view of the safe withthe door and hinge in place. Fig. 3 represents a horizontal section ofthe same. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 represent views similar to Figs. 1, 2, and3, showing slight modifications in the construction of the door, hinge,and jamb.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

Referring to the drawings,the letter (L d esignates the door of a safe,and b b the jamb.

d d designate flat locking bolts or tongues which are arranged to beprojected from the jarnbs into thedoor-space and lockin a groove formedin the door a. The jamb departs in its construction from the usualconstruction of jarnbs in the following manner, as may be seen in Figs.3 and 6: Instead of building up the jamb entirely of flat plates andangles whose terminal edges abut against the door, so that the crevicesbetween the layers are brought out to the door-opening, which is thepresent practice in safe-building, I build up the first few layers ofthe jamb by using angle-plates and Z-plates, as indicated in the saidfigures. In Fig. 3 the outside front layer of the jamb on the left ofthe dooris a Z-plate N, which has a limb 2 extending parallel to theside of the door-opening. The next layer is an angle-plate b extendingout flush with the limb 2 of the plate b The third layer is anangle-plate b, which has a long limb 3 projecting outwardly in the samemanner as the limb 2 of the outer plate and also extendin g over andcovering the crevice between the plates 6* and 19 The fourth and fifthlayers of the jamb extend out farther into the dooropening, so as togive the usual stepped construction to the jamb. The arrangement of theplates on the right-hand side of the dooropening is the same as thatonthe left, excepting that the limb 2 of the outer plate on the right iscut away even with the limb 3 of the third plate,so as to admit thehinge, where as on the left the limb 2 extends beyond the limb 3 adistance equal to the thickness of the hinge. The door-abutting facesofthe limbs 3 3 are slightly beveled, so as to admit the door easily,andthe edges of the door-plates are correspondingly beveled, so as to makea snug fit against the jamb. It will be observed thatthe aboveconstruction ofthejambs forms a sort of portico or vestibule into whichthe door shuts. The edges of the jamb all around the door-opening areraised or protruded, so as to form a continuous tongue or'flange.

In Figs. 1, 2, and. 3 I show a crane-hinge for attaching the door to thesafe-bod y, consisting of hinge-butts o c, affixed in a suitable mannerto the door, and a main hingepiece 0, having one set of bearings c c onthe jamb and another set 0 c on the door at the hinge-butts c c. It willbe noted that the top bars or portions of the hinge-piece 0 extend overand protect the top and bottom horizontal portions of the crevicebetween the door and jam'o, while the vertical connecting bars orportions of said hinge-piece cover and protect the vertical portions ofthe crevice. The object of this construction is to protect this crevicefrom the immediate use of the wedge and similar tools and from theintroduction of liquid or other explosives. Before such an attack can bemade it .is necessary to first remove the hinge.

By forming the jamb and door of a safe as hereinbefore described the useof a wedge to separate the door from the jamb by the ordinary methodisprevented. If a wedge is interposed and driven downwardly between thelayers of the jarnb, the effect is to try to rend the parts of the jambasunder instead of separating the door from the jamb, as would be thecase with the ordinary construction of jamb and door, wherein thecrevices between the front layers of the jamb terminate in thedoor-opening.

Referring now to Figs. 4, 5, and 6, it will be noted that theconstruction is in the main similar to that described, with thefollowing slight exceptions: The hinge is made in two parts or leaves 0and 0 The inner part 0 fits close against the door and is soformed thatit liesrnainly within the vestibule formed by the projecting edges ofthe jamb. Its edges 4 4 overlap the raised flange formed by the firsttwo jalnb-plates. The outer jamb-plate in this case has a limb 5, whichcovers the edge of the second plate and makes the crevice between thetwo plates abut against the hinge-piece 0 when the door is closed. Thehinge-piece c is offset at 6 to pass around the right-hand portion ofthe raised flange and forms an additional protection at this point. Theraised flange around the door-opening of the safe, in combination withthe door located some distance back in the door opening, as described,prevents the successful use of a jimmy, since afulcrum cannot beobtained on the jamb near the operating end'of the tool as with aflush-door and jamb.

I claim 1. In a safe or vault, the combination of a door, and a jambbuilt up of layers or plates of material, one of which plates within thejamb has a portion next the door-opening ex tending outwardly across theends of the front plate or plates and out to or beyond the front surfaceof the door, whereby an unseamed outer jamb is formed to the depth oftwo or ;more jamb-plates, for the purpose specified. 2. In a safe orvault, the combination of a door, a jamb built up of layers 01 plates ofllnaterial, one or more of which plates have portionsextending outwardlyparallel tothe door-opening and beyond the front surface of thejamb,"soas"to form a protruding flange around the dooropening, and ahinge having top and'bottom horizontal portions and a vertical portionuniting said horizontal portions, the said vertical portion being offsetto pass the flange, and extending over and protecting the vertical jointbetween the doorand jamb on the hingeside of the door.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, inthepresence of twosubscribing witnesses, this3d day of December, A. D21897.

JAMES H. HOWARD.

Witnesses:

A. D; HARRISON, P. W. PEZZETTI.

